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btw, this hit the press on my end, that it seems Team Biden might want help from Teams Putin and Xi, or Team Putin & Xi, setting aside the bad feelings at the recent Alaska meeting when Team China noted America is not dealing w/ China from a position of strength.
I remain agnostic because one must beware of DNC / GOP trying to negotiate anything. China and Russia tend to keep their words (never mind the dire situation that UK gamed making Stalin smiling with Hitler temporarily necessary).
It would have best had Team USA joined the recent exercises to share fresh experience and prepare the peace-keepers better for whatever might happen next.
China ‘willing’ to work with US on Afghanistan, but calls for easing of other pressures
- In a flurry of diplomatic calls, Washington’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken secured Beijing’s support for cooperation, but not at any price - Blinken has also spoken to Russia’s foreign minister and discussions have also been held between Moscow and Beijing
The fall of Kabul on Monday prompted a flurry of diplomatic phone calls between the US, China and Russia about what follows the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan. Photo: AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken picked up the phone on Monday to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for a discussion on how the two countries could work together to achieve a “soft landing” for Afghanistan . He was told Beijing was willing, but Washington would need to step back the pressure on its greatest rival, according to China’s state media.
Wang earlier had spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov , with both sides agreeing that Beijing and Moscow should step up their communication and coordination over the Afghanistan situation.
In a flurry of diplomatic phone calls, Blinken also spoke to Lavrov in the aftermath of the chaotic fall of the Afghan government as the Taliban took over Kabul and the presidential palace on Monday.
Afghan chaos left by US a ‘lesson’ for Taiwan, Chinese media warns 17 Aug 2021
While the US State Department provided few details of the Wang-Blinken discussion, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said Beijing had called for Washington to “play a constructive role” and take part in the peaceful reconstruction of the war-torn country.
“China is willing to communicate and dialogue with the US to push for a soft landing of the Afghanistan problem, preventing new civil war or humanitarian disaster in the country, to avoid it from [becoming] a breeding ground and shelter for terrorism, and encouraging Afghanistan to set up an inclusive political framework in line with the Afghanistan situation,” Wang said.
At least 7 people killed at Kabul airport as thousands of Afghans try to flee Taliban: US officials
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on Monday, putting an end to two decades of US support for the Afghan government. President Joe Biden gave a speech defending the US military withdrawal after a chaotic evacuation of its diplomats which drew comparisons to the defeated retreat from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war in 1975.
Wang said what happened in Afghanistan “once again proved that it would only lead to failure to apply a foreign model mechanically to a country with a different history, culture and situation”.
“A regime cannot hold on without the support of the people. Strong power and military methods will only lead to more questions,” he said.
‘I do not regret my decision’: Biden defends US exit from Afghanistan 17 Aug 2021
For Beijing, the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the capital Kabul and presidential palace raises concerns that turmoil and instability could spill over into its highly sensitive, western Xinjiang region.
Wang also said it was “dangerous and mistaken” of the previous US administration to remove the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) from its terror list, describing it as a “double standard” in Washington’s war on terrorism. He called for a US policy shift to “clear the barriers” to China-US cooperation on Afghanistan issues and global terrorism.
He reiterated Beijing’s stance on bilateral relations, saying China and the US should coordinate and cooperate in global challenges and regional hot issues, but warned that Washington should not count on China’s cooperation while it was deliberately working to contain China and hurts its interests.
The US state department’s brief statement on the call said the two discussed developments in Afghanistan “including the security situation and our respective efforts to bring US and PRC citizens to safety”.
China warns UN about a possible resurgence of terrorism in Afghanistan after Taliban victory
Xinhua provided more detail, reporting that Blinken had said the Taliban should announce a clean break with extremism, opt for an orderly transfer of power and establish an inclusive government. He also expressed the hope that China would play an important role to this end.
According to Xinhua, Blinken also said the US recognised that the future of Afghanistan should be decided by the Afghan people, and called on the Taliban to ensure the safety of all those who wished to leave the country.
“The US reiterated its opposition to all kinds of terrorism and does not seek turbulence at the border region in China’s west region,” Xinhua said, adding that Blinken had said both countries could seek constructive ways to address bilateral conflicts.
In his discussions with Lavrov, Wang said China and Russia should step up their communications over Afghanistan to push the Taliban to ensure the safety of their citizens and organizations, and encourage the Taliban to adopt a mild religious policy and crackdown on terrorism, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.
The readout quoted Lavrov as saying Russia was willing to jointly monitor and address with China the developments in Afghanistan.
